Sierra snow update: Banzai racing and upcoming storm

Spent the weekend up at Kirkwood and the skiing was good. Considering the general lack of snow this winter and the recent warm weather, conditions were crisp. We skied the Wall. The backside was open. And the snow was surprisingly forgiving.

Now it looks like a significant storm is lining up this week, starting Wednesday and going on into the weekend. For many Bay Area skiers and riders, this may be the right weekend to fight through the snowy roads and get up to Tahoe for some fresh snow.

According to our friends at Western Weather Group, Slope Dope’s preferred weather prognosticators, “Forecast models continue to agree fairly well with the overall pattern change this week showing two storms impacting the state. The first, which last night’s models have slowed down the timing a little, is forecast to move over Northern & Central California late Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. The second system, which is larger and more complex, is forecast to move over the entire state Friday through Saturday. Both systems look to bring the upper elevation around 4-8″ with the potential for more than that Fri/Sat depending on how the second system tracks. It still looks to focus the bulk of its energy into SoCal though.”

The main reason Slope Dope ventured up to Kirkwood this past weekend was the Rahlves Banzai Tour, a madcap ski and snowboarding race that lived up to its name. The course was wicked and the racers stood up to the challenge.

This past weekend’s race was the first of four that will be held throughout the Tahoe region in the next few weeks. The rest of the Banzai Tour, the brainchild of alpine ski legend Darren Rahlves, will be held at:

Squaw Valley (March 1-2)

Alpine Meadows (March 8-9)

Sugar Bowl Resort (March 15-16)

Here’s a little video we put together over the weekend, which should give you a taste of the action.